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Forum:Storyline Debate...
Greetings - first time poster. I instantly became a big fan of Mass Effect with the title release on Xbox in 2007. I have read both "Revelation" and "Ascension novels." In preparation for the upcoming sequel, I have been playing through the original game again (mostly achievement grinding) and also decided to read up on the entire storyline, which I was glad to see available on this Wikia. A question came to mind as I read through "the plan" between Saren and Sovereign regarding the regain of control over the Citadel. Saren's mission was to find and then use the conduit to enter the Citadel and take control of it. I assumed he would have to use this "back door" method because of being stripped of his Spectre status. However, it wasn't until the discovery of his recorded conversation with Benezia that led to the stripping of his status. In that recording, he declared being "one step closer" to discovering the conduit. Being that Saren was a Spectre in good standing when he discovered Sovereign, why didn't he just waltz into the Citadel and take control? Why the galaxy-wide search for Prothean beacons and the conduit? The Council would have had no reason to suspect Saren until it was far too late. I welcome discussion on this topic. Maybe I'm missing something. It's been a while since I read any of the novels, and will admit I skip through dialogue when replaying the game... Should be fun! 18:23, January 7, 2010 (UTC) :This has been discussed elsewhere, but general thinking is: if Sovereign just attacked, the Citadel could defend itself. And if Saren just showed up with an army of geth, or went into the Council Chambers and started fiddling with a mysterious control panel, Spectre or not he wouldn't last very long against C-Sec; certainly not long enough to open the relay given how long it seemed to take him (long enough for Shepard to fight all the way to him). --Tullis 19:32, January 7, 2010 (UTC) :If I remember correctly from the conversation with the Prothean VI on Ilos, the Conduit was a backdoor the Protheans used to gain access to and override the signal sent out that activates the Keepers to open up the Citadel relay. It's puzzling as to why the relay would be in the middle of the Presidium, though. Maybe the Conduit somehow is the only way to bypass the Protheans' safeguard against the opening of the relay? It might make perfect sense in ME2, or might not, but it is one of those things that always bothered me. :Another thing is if the Keepers are the only ones who can activate the relay, why is Saren killing all of them? Well there's another theory, which is that the Conduit was needed to get the Geth into the Citadel. After Sovereign gains control he can replace the Keepers with the Geth who will then be able to take over control of the relay. The Prothean VI also explains how Sovereign thinks that the Keepers as biological creatures are useless and unreliable after the Protheans successfully blocked the signal for the Reapers' return. The Geth will directly follow Sovereign's orders. ArmeniusLOD 21:32, January 7, 2010 (UTC) Yeah, I guess that it's just regarding the length of time it takes to take over and reassign the controls. I just finished my third playthrough and noticed when Shepard approaches Saren in the Council Chambers, Saren says something regarding the conversion being "almost complete." Other than that, yes, the Beacon would have been the only way to bring an army directly into the citadel... Although, I must say as a Level 60 Infiltrator, it sure doesn't seem like it'd be too hard to bust into C-Sec with guns blazing! There's like, 10 people standing around!ViperMan 05:37, January 8, 2010 (UTC) I recently finished ME1 for the first time, and had been wondering the exact same things. But yes, I guess Saren did need a long time to activate the relay.. So without the army of geth, he would have never survived long enough.. But he could have just brought a load of geth on a normal ship, and c-sec wouldn't have had time to react.. Oh well. As for the Keepers, Vigil said they now only respond to the citadel itself, and Saren would need to activate the relay manually.. Another question.. The conduit, on Ilos, did that just transport Seren and some geth, or Sovereign and the geth ships too? I would have thought it was a bit small for that.. And as the other end was inside the citadel, I don't see how that could have worked.. So.. How did Sovereign and the geth ships get to the citadel? Yeryry 19:22, February 2, 2010 (UTC) A good question, Yeryry - it kinda elaborates on what I was asking. I believe that the conduit only transfered the "army" that you see Saren with just as he sees the Normandy approaching and closes the massive door. If I recall correctly, you see Sovereign and the geth ships entering from the relay - they were waiting on the other end until Saren was ready to transfer controls. Basically, I think Saren was able to save the time of arriving in a ship, docking with the Citadel and coming down that looooooooong elevator ride into C-sec - instead entering through the miniature relay in the middle of the presidium (and we can only presume taking the long elevator ride up to the tower.) Too bad the story of Mass Effect 2 isn't nearly as engaging - at least not for the first 30+ hours... 21:26, February 2, 2010 (UTC) While this forum has been dead for over a year, I'd just like to put into perspective exactly how the invasion of the Citadel went, specifically for those who may still be scratching their heads after all this time. Step 1. - Before Commander Shepard's team arrives on the Citadel, Saren Arterius is last seen entering the incredibly long tunnel that leads to the Conduit, locking the doors behind him to delay Shepard's pursuit. It is implied that Saren never made contact with Vigil on Ilos, passing it by without noticing its presence. Simultaneously, it can only be assumed that Sovereign is heading towards the Citadel via the Mass Relays with an armada of geth ships. Step 2. - Sovereign and the geth arive in Citadel space and begin a surprise onslaught against the frigates and dreadnoughts patrolling it. This forces the remaining ships to fan out from the Citadel and fight back, where the geth ships prove efficient cannon fodder by soaking up much of the Citadel fleet's retaliating fire as Sovereign moves ever closer to the massive space station. The commander on the Destiny Ascension orders the wings of the Citadel be closed to prevent entry, yet Sovereign slips in and attaches itself to the Citadel Tower, leaving the geth to obliterate what remaining forces are left outside the shielded Citadel. During this time, Saren has led is army of geth footsoldiers through the Conduit, initiating his own surprise attack on C-Sec and whatever unfortunate civilians may have been present at the time. He makes his way up the tower to the Council chambers and begins the relay conversion. Step 3. - Commander Shepard, after speaking with Vigil, makes it through the experimental mass relay and onto the Citadel. He makes his way up the tower to Saren, and the rest is history.--Kentasko 19:28, February 10, 2011 (UTC)